Novel quantification of regional fossil fuel CO₂ reductions during COVID-19 lockdowns using atmospheric oxygen measurements.

ABSTRACT: It is not currently possible to quantify regional-scale fossil fuel carbon dioxide (ffCO₂) emissions with high accuracy in near real time. Existing atmospheric methods for separating ffCO₂ from large natural carbon dioxide variations are constrained by sampling limitations, so that estimates of regional changes in ffCO₂ emissions, such as those occurring in response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns, rely on indirect activity data. We present a method for quantifying regional signals of ffCO₂ based on continuous atmospheric measurements of oxygen and carbon dioxide combined into the tracer "atmospheric potential oxygen" (APO). We detect and quantify ffCO₂ reductions during 2020-2021 caused by the two U.K. COVID-19 lockdo

SUBMITTER: Pickers PA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9032948 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature